


Angels for Dummies

by clotpoleofthelord (plantainleaf)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Fallen Castiel, First Time, M/M, Wingfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-26
Updated: 2013-04-26
Packaged: 2017-12-09 13:59:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/775005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plantainleaf/pseuds/clotpoleofthelord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean shifted from foot to foot. "So, Cas," he paused, "about your wings..."</p><p>Cas glanced at him, attention still held by the documentary. "Yes?"</p><p>Dean turned to look out the window, discomfort in every line of his body. He took a deep breath.  "I could help you clean them if you wanted?" he said quickly, avoiding the angel's eyes. "I, uh, did some research on bird wings. They're kinda similar, right?"</p><p>Cas stared at him, speechless for a moment. "You would do that?"</p><p>Dean sat abruptly on the other bed and gave an awkward smile. "Yeah, Cas. That's what friends are for, right? And family? To help you out when you can't do something yourself?"</p><p>Cas didn't look convinced.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Angels for Dummies

**Author's Note:**

> MASSIVE thanks to deanhugchester for the AMAZING beta job! Seriously, I should have paid her or something.
> 
> (any mistakes in there are mine - I was too impatient to send it back for a second run after edits!)
> 
> Art by me, courtesy of a really long and boring busride.

The demons rushed Dean, knives out, and he backed up quickly, glancing around for a weapon. Ruby's knife lay behind the attackers, out of his reach. Sam lay just beyond it, struggling against the telekinetic hold of a third demon. As they reached him, Dean tripped, falling backwards, and braced himself-

A bright light appeared between him and the demons, slamming into them hard. Cas's eyes glowed and the shadows of his wings unfurled. As the angel placed a hand on each demon’s forehead and smote them, Dean stared at him, panting. Cas 's shoulders were a hard line across his back, his trench coat whipping around his legs in the wind of displaced air his appearance had created. His wings were outstretched, spreading nearly 15 feet on either side, looking magnificent and... raggedy?

Dean blinked, distracted from the battle. Cas's wings, sharply defined and proudly tall in the few instances he'd glimpsed them before, instead looked threadbare and almost limp. Light showed through the shadows in places, and the usually clean lines of the top and sides had protrusions and rough spots as if feathers had become misaligned.

The wings folded back into nothingness as the angel turned. "Dean, are you all right?" he asked, reaching out a hand to clasp around Dean's and pull him to his feet.

"Yeah, Cas. I'm good. Check on Sam, will you?" He stepped across the room and grabbed the knife as Sam was pulled to his feet.

Surveying the scene, he shook his head. He was not looking forward to stuffing two very muddy hunters and one dingy angel into his baby.

As they walked back to the car, Dean pulled Cas aside. "Hey, Cas, everything alright with your mojo?"

"I don’t know what you mean, Dean," replied the angel, frowning.

"I uh, saw your wings' shadow during the fight. Is it just me, or are they in kind of rough shape?"

Cas sighed and looked away. "I'm falling, Dean. Slowly, but it will happen. The first sign of that is my wings."

"What do you mean? What happens to them?" Sam joined the conversation as the brushed off the mud as best they could and got into the Impala.

Cas shifts uncomfortably. "As I lose my grace, they will manifest more and more tangibly and be susceptible to more and more damage. It seems my grace is no longer able to repair and clean them as it would were I at full power."

"Then what?" asked Sam. "Will they show up all the time? Will we be able to see them?"

Cas looked out the window, watching the speeding landscape, face hard. "I will be unable to hide them completely for a moment, yes. Just before they shatter and my grace disappears completely."

Sam looked horrified.

"Does it hurt?" asked Dean hesitantly.

"If you mean the final shattering, then yes, I believe it is incredibly painful."

"No, the mud and stuff. Do your wings... feel it?"

"Oh. Yes. Quite uncomfortable."  Cas replied. Dean looked thoughtful.

Pulling into the motel, the three piled into the room. The two humans showered quickly while the angel sat entranced by a documentary on the History Channel.

When Sam came back into the room, toweling his hair dry, Dean was closing the laptop, tying his boots and grabbing a jacket. "Where are you off to?" asked Sam, curious.

Dean looked shifty. "Nowhere. Just gotta do a supply run. No big deal." He nearly ran out the door, slamming it behind him and leaving Sam and Cas staring after him, blinking.

"So uh, that was weird." Sam shook his head. "Cas, you ok to hang out here while I head to the library?"

The angel nodded. "I would like to see this program's interpretation of the building of the pyramids. I believe it will differ from my memory."

Sam grinned, grabbed his laptop, and headed out.

\--

A few hours later, Dean slid back into the room, glancing around. "Where's Sam?" he asked Cas, who was still perched on the bed watching television.

"Library." Cas remained transfixed by the archeologist describing some kind of granite.

"Ah." Dean shifted from foot to foot. "So, Cas," he paused, "about your wings..."

Cas glanced at him, attention still held by the documentary. "Yes?"

"Are they- I mean, can they be- could I touch them? Hypothetically?"

Cas turned his gaze to Dean. "Why would you want to touch them?" he asked, eyes narrowing.

"Hypothetically, dude! Just... wondering."

Cas shifted uncomfortably and Dean swore he heard rustling. "I can manifest them so they are tangible, yes..."

Dean turned to look out the window, discomfort in every line of his body. He took a deep breath.  "I could help you clean them if you wanted?" he said quickly, avoiding the angel's eyes. "I, uh, did some research on bird wings. They're kinda similar, right?"

Cas stared at him, speechless for a moment. "You would do that?"

Dean sat abruptly on the other bed and gave an awkward smile. "Yeah, Cas. That's what friends are for, right? And family? To help you out when you can't do something yourself?"

Cas didn't look convinced.

"Look, man, you're uncomfortable. If I can help you with this you'll feel better, right? And you’ll be a better hunter, too."

"I suppose." The angel replied, wavering.

"Then lets get this over with, okay?" Dean stood and walked over towards Cas, pulling a book from his shopping bag and opening it to a bookmarked page. Leaning towards him, Castiel read the title. "Parrots for Dummies?"

"It was the closest thing they had." Dean muttered, blushing slightly. He also pulled out a spray bottle, then rested the bag on the carpet.

Cas reached over and picked it up, reaching inside. Pulling out a jumbo bag of birdseed, he gave Dean a questioning glance.

Dean blushed harder and rubbed a hand over his face, explanation tumbling out. "I dunno, man, I told them I was watching a friend's parrot and it got real muddy and they wouldn't let me leave without 'a treat for the poor birdie'."

Cas smiled. "It will indeed be a treat to be able to feed the birds outside the motel some healthy seeds. They live mostly on garbage and rarely get enough protein."

Dean smiled back. He was glad Cas chatted with small animals, even though it was kind of weird - it seemed to make the guy happy, and those sorts of things were in short supply lately.

"Ok, so the book says to start by spraying the feathers to get them damp." He looked at the tiny bottle in his hand. "Cas, how big will your wings be when they manifest?"

"My wingspan in this form is approximately fifteen feet."

Dean tossed the bottle back into the bag with a snort. "All right. Shower it is. C’mon.” He headed into the bathroom. Cas trailed after him.

“First off, you’re gonna need to take off your shirt and jackets,” Dean instructed as he pulled off his shoes and socks and rolled up his pant legs  to his knees.

Cas complied, still watching Dean uncertainly. Dean pulled back the shower curtain and directed Cas towards the edge of the tub. Cas sat, feet outside the tub as Dean stepped behind him, hand brushing his shoulder reassuringly as he passed.

“You ready, Cas? I need you to pop out your wings.” Dean was all business.

With a POP and a rush of air, two massive, hazy shapes appeared in front of Dean, slightly translucent but definitely wings. They were darkest at the bottom, the down at the top light grey where it peeked through the dirt, dust and mud. Folded, they came up to Dean’s shoulders and brushed the floor of the tub. They shimmered silver in places but in others they seemed dull. Mud caked them, ground into the flight feathers and splattered across the down. Dean even spotted a twig or two wound tightly between feathers.

Cas's back muscles were drawn tight, shoulders pulled up nearly to his ears as he gazed straight ahead, refusing to look at Dean as the human considered the wings.

“You don’t have to do this, Dean,” said the angel, voice tight with tension. “I know they are not what you expected an angel’s wings to look like.”

“No, I’m good. I was just surprised, that’s all. I’ve never seen them before. Well, besides the shadows. They’re... really cool, actually.” He reached over to the knobs and turned on the water, letting the warm spray soak into the angel’s wings. Water ran through them, dripping brown into the tub. Cas leaned back slightly, enjoying the sensation.

“Cas, do you mind if I touch them? I want to make sure I get everything out.”

“Go ahead.” Cas's eyes were shut and his head drooped back. Dean chuckled slightly and reached for the tip of one wing, gently stretching it outward. Cas sighed quietly and leaned back further until his head rested on Dean’s stomach.

Switching from the shower to the faucet, Dean reached for the toothbrush cup from the sink and rinsed it out thoroughly. Filling it with water, he gently poured it over the tip of Castiel’s left wing. The water ran out slightly clearer, and Dean repeated the action, brushing mud out of the feathers as he moved up one wing, then the other.

Cas was quiet and still, head still leaning gently against Dean. His face was content, relaxed, and Dean smiled as he continued to rinse the wings.

Reaching the tip of the second wing, water finally running clear from both, Dean paused. Though clean, the feathers were still misaligned, tangled, and matted in places. Reaching for the arch of the left wing, he gently separated the feathers, laying each back down in what seemed to be the proper place.

“Mmmm... Thank you, Dean...” mumbled Cas sleepily, burrowing his head back against Dean’s chest. Dean smirked and continued, untangling feathers down one wing and then repeating the action on the other.

Finishing that, he examined his work. The wings seemed better, but still looked flat and were dripping wet. He thought back to the book and to the conversation he’d had with the pet store woman.

“Cas? Do your feathers get... brushed and stuff? Like a bird does with its wings? The lady at the store said that was pretty important.”

“Hmm?” Cas opened his eyes and looked up at Dean drowsily. “Oh. I suppose not. If I were at full strength they wouldn’t need preening, but at present...” His eyes drifted closed again as Dean ran his hands along the top of his wings.

Thinking back to the diagram in the book, Dean gently ran his fingers through the long feathers on the edge of Castiel’s wing, nails brushing the skin beneath. Water dripped from them and the whole wing shivered slightly. It pressed into his touch, and Cas let out a small, pleased sound. Emboldened, Dean continued to run his finger through the feathers, starting with the long ones on the edge and working his way up and in towards Cas's shoulder. The feathers were soft, firm, and warm, and Dean lost himself in the task. As he reached the arch of the first wing, he noticed Cas shifting slightly, pressing his head back  against Dean’s chest. A slight flush was rising on the angel’s cheeks.

A feather dislodged as Dean brushed through the middle of the wing. He picked it up, frowning. "Is this a bad thing? Should they be falling out like this?" He asked, handing Cas the feather.

"No, it's natural that a few feathers will have loosened." He pressed it back into Dean's hand. "I would like you to keep any that fall. They may be useful to you in the future." He tensed slightly, and said more quietly, "and if you carry it with you I will be able to find you wherever you are, even if I fall. If you would rather not give me that ability, store it somewhere safe, but away from you."

"I'll hold onto it, Cas. I want you to know where I am. Don't want to have you fall and not have anyone to teach you all the human stuff." He gave the wing in front of him an awkward pat and gently placed the feather in his pocket.

Cas smiled, relaxing again. "Thank you, Dean."

They sat in silence for a few moments as Dean worked his way inwards. When he reached the downy fluff at Cas's shoulder, he heard a different sort of sound from the angel in front of him. It was a very small sound, barely more than a breath. He repeated the motion, stroking his fingers through the feathers just against the skin of Cas's back. There it was again - louder this time, almost a moan. Glancing around the angel, he noticed something he was definitely not expecting - a slight bulge in his slacks.

Dean froze, hands buried in the angel's down. "Cas? You okay there, buddy?"

Cas opened his eyes and glanced up at Dean. "I'm sorry, Dean. It seems my wings have become overly sensitive and are causing a... physical reaction. Is it making you uncomfortable?”

Dean opened his mouth to make a joke, or to breeze through the awkward moment with his usual bravado, and stopped. Did it make him uncomfortable? He realized with a start that it didn’t. At all. In fact...

He blinked, and realized he was still staring at the bulge in Cas's pants and that Castiel was still staring at him, tensing further and further the longer the silence stretched.

Dean rushed to reassure him. “No, no, it’s fine. I’m almost done with this wing anyway. You want me to keep going?”

Cas reached up a hand and rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding Dean’s eyes. “Please. It will be good to have clean wings again. And... I am enjoying this process.”

Dean chuckled. “Yeah, I can see that.” He ran his fingers through a particularly matted section just a few inches from Cas's shoulder, straightening barbs and patting down straying bits of fluff.

The wing fluttered and Cas let out a shaky breath.

As Dean continued to stroke through the feathers, he pondered. Cas was falling further and further every day, and with a pang he realized that if his body was human enough for arousal that might mean they’d need to teach him about women, and maybe find him someone. He frowned, finding that idea distasteful. Cas needed someone to take care of him, Dean knew, but the idea of anyone else teaching the angel let loose a spark of... something in Dean.

Dean was jolted from his thoughts by Cas, now flushed down to his chest, pants obscenely tented, pulling the wing from his grasp. He realized he’d been stroking the arches over and over as he thought, and that his fingertips were brushing Cas's bare shoulders and downy wing connectors.

“Dean.” Cas growled, narrowing his eyes and focusing on Dean. “If you don’t stop touching me like that, I cannot be responsible for the consequences.”

Dean’s eyes flew to Cas’s, finding them intent, dilated and focused on Dean. Realizing what Cas meant, he froze. It wasn't as if he’d never wondered what being with a man would be like before. He'd even been kissed by a guy once, in a truck stop when he was 16 and desperate for cash. It hadn't been awful then, and the guy had been pretty hot. Dean was an open minded sort of guy- with the sort of life they'd led the last few years, he'd let go of a lot of bullshit. In this moment, he felt a kind of clarity that was rare in his life. This being, this angel, had stood by him through some of the most intense shit he’d ever had to deal with, and still came back every time. Hell, Castiel had died twice and yet here he was, sitting in a crappy motel bathroom with Dean. And Dean... Dean wanted this. It wasn’t just that he hadn’t gotten laid in months - although that was probably helping him dismiss the dude thing even more easily - it was that this was Cas. The way the angel looked at him, as though he was the only mystery worth solving, and the feeling Dean got when they hadn’t heard from him in a while - those were clues, Dean realized.

Deliberately, Dean reached again for the wings, this time with both hands, and slid his fingers back into the down. Burying them in feathers, he gave a tug and smiled, showing teeth. “Sounds good to me.”

Suddenly Dean found himself pressed to the wall of the shower with a loud crack. Plaster rained down on either side of him, but he was completely focused on the angel pressed against him.

Castiel had a hand on either side of Dean's head as he stared deeply into the man’s green eyes. The two stayed frozen for a few moments, Dean shocked into stillness, Cas searching Dean's eyes, until Dean shifted slightly and felt the angel's erection pressed against his thigh.

What the hell, he thought, and leaned forward, capturing Cas's lips in a bruising kiss. Cas moaned into his mouth and shoved a leg between Dean's thighs, lifting him slightly off the ground and holding him against the wall.

Dean let out something far too manly to be a squeak at the force of the movement and licked into Cas's mouth. Cas lifted him higher and took the opportunity to take control of the kiss. He moved his hands from the wall, burying them in Dean's short hair and tugging him closer. His wings curled in, the tips brushing Dean's sides, and Dean grabbed hold of the fluttering arches above Cas's shoulder blades, burying his fingers in the thick down and tugging them closer together.

Cas shuddered against him, pressing their hips together. Their cocks rubbed through four layers of fabric, and Dean let go of one wing just long enough to expertly unzip them both and drag their pants and boxers down to their knees.

Dean groaned as their cocks brushed together, already rock hard. Cas's wing tip insinuated itself between Dean and the wall and brushed between Dean's cheeks and against his hole. Dean jerked closer, reaching a hand between their bellies and gathering their cocks together. Pulling his mouth off of the angel's, he rested their foreheads together and glanced down to watch their bodies move together.

"Dean," growled Cas, panting and rubbing Dean's back, ass and thighs with both wing tips, "I hadn’t realized this was what I wanted."

"Me neither," Dean replied, “but it’s awesome, isn’t it?” He twisted his fist around them both and Cas gasped, crowding closer to Dean and attacking his mouth in a possessive kiss.  "Fuck, Cas," Dean moaned into the angel's mouth, tightening his grip and reaching this other hand around to Cas's ass and gripping it tightly. The angel bucked, body tensing, and came in a hot flood against their stomachs as he bit down on Dean's lip, hard, feathers brushing against the back of Dean's balls. The combination of pain and pleasure along with the splatter of come spurred Dean to his release and he collapsed, panting, against Castiel.

They stood in silence for a few moments as they calmed, pressed against each other, hands and wings gently continuing to explore each others' bodies. Finally, Cas pulled back slightly and met Dean's slightly glazed glance.

"I hope we can repeat that sometime soon, Dean."

Dean blinked, focused on Cas's face and smirked. "Well, I still have to do your other wing..."

 


End file.
